I am too young to have remembered Rich Man, Poor Man when it first aired, but after some investigation I found out it will be released in Sept. 2010 in the US, so I'm going to buy it. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to reading the novel. For once I will have read the book before seeing the movie, LOL!
I grew up watching Bill on the Incredible Hulk and have come to appreciate it and him so much more now as an adult, which makes me miss him all the more! What a marvelous, versatile actor!!!
"is that the correct answer to the multiple choice of me?" ~ from "Michael Clayton"

After seeing him in The Magician, it was a change to see him in an unsympathetic potrayal but he pulled it off.
Its that man again!!

That's true. Audiences of the day were used to associating Bill with his roles as Tim O'Hara and/or Tom Corbett and other characters in comedy or light drama.
Then Bill plays Willie, a heel type, but in such a convincing manner that we care about him. His interactions with Susan Blakely, Craig Stevens and Peter Strauss are thoroughly convincing because Bill adds that dimension of self-preservation with a touch of consideration, ultimately.
Why Billy (Leigh McClosky, as Willie and Julie's son) grows to harbor a lifelong grudge seems less plausible than anything Bill shows us as Willie. Leigh is only three years younger than Susan, and that sort of subtracts from the realistic although they manage to pull it off somehow.
At any rate, another great performance from Bill Bixby.
Regards,
Blue